Valeria Cirillo defended her doctoral thesis in philosophy last June, entitled Habiter les catastrophes écologiques. Perspectives multi-espèces de la philosophie spéculative d'Alfred North Whitehead, the fruit of work between the University of Rome 3 and the GECO (Groupe d'étude constructiviste) research group at the Université Libre de Bruxelles.

The central focus of his reflections was on two wetlands - the Marais Wiles (Brussels) and Lake Bullicante (Rome) - which emerged in the city as a result of anthropogenic damage, in particular the rupture of the underlying aquifers caused by property speculation.

Since the emergence of the water, two collectives made up of activists, militants and local residents have mobilised around these ecosystems, experimenting with new ways of inhabiting the city from a multi-species perspective.

Valeria Cirillo's thesis is rooted in these socio-ecological contexts and seeks to answer two fundamental questions. In a first, more theoretical approach, she questioned the role of philosophy, and in particular the production of concepts, in relation to the needs of territories and the communities that look after them. Following the analyses of Isabelle Stengers, particularly as a reader of Alfred North Whitehead, she has adopted a method of activist philosophy.

In the second part of her work, she has been actively involved in producing, with the groups concerned, a new aesthetic paradigm capable of making the links emerging in these territories perceptible and sensitive, in order to establish a new way of looking at things that is capable of appreciating the non-monetisable value of the ecological and social dynamics taking place there.

Moderator: Allan Wei, Université libre de Bruxelles

The session can also be accessed remotely.

Registration required before 12 May: here